A Splash of Color
by InkSpatteredHands
Summary: Jack's painting another masterpiece, and Crutchie's keeping him company. Written for the Newsies Pape Selling Competition Circulation Round Two.


**Written for Newsies Pape Selling Competition Circulation Two! *jazz hands***

 **Colors:**

 **Green/Delight**

 **Indigo/Shock**

 **Okay so in this fic Crutchie can see auras around people, and is also mute. Roll with it.**

 **I OWN IT ALL! *crazed laughing* NOT!**

Crutchie watched, fascinated as Jack expertly blended colors together, creating a beautiful sunset over the tops of clay houses. He took out his notebook and pencil. _Where is that place?_ He wrote. Jack's aura flickered, turning indigo. Crutchie's heart skipped a beat. _Did I say something wrong?_ Jack smiled.

"No, Crutch, Ise just suprised dat you ain't heard of it. The mos' bootiful place there eva was. Santa Fe." He waved his arms, like Santa Fe was big and wide and wonderful. The air shifted around him, turning from indigo to green, indicating this was a topic Jack liked to talk about. Jack continued. "Fields of rollin' green hills. Clay houses. Fresh air. And da moon…" Jack gave a big sigh. Crutchie smiled, imagining such a place. He wouldn't fit in, of course, being a mute and a crip, but it was glorious to just imagine, and let the foolish part of himself hope that one day he too could be, as Jack said, "A real cowboy." He snapped out of his daydream to have Jack waving a hand in front of his face.

"Youse was daydreamin'." Crutchie looked at him, then to his notebook. Are you going to ever go there? He wrote carefully, making sure that his writing was legible enough for Jack to read. He really wanted to know. Jack looked at the notebook, then at Crutchie. His eyes were bright, and filled with the limitless possibilities of the future. The green aura that surrounded him was glowing neon, but mixed with blue, orange, and pink. Crutchie had never seen so many colors surrounding Jack. Jack had always seemed like a one color guy, with strong feelings about something. It was almost like he had become a different person. Happiness, depression, disappointment, and wonder shifted and shimmered around Jack. It was breathtaking. Jack's aura was a work of art, much like his paintings.

Crutchie wondered if Jack was always like this, and just hid his feelings away so nobody could see his colors. Maybe he could coax them out more often. Jack picked up his paintbrush again, and began to add color to the hills, a wistful smile on his face. Crutchie watched as Jack forgot he was there and focused only on the painting and his own thoughts. The feelings of content and longing at the same time fought with each other, battling and mixing. Jack spilled some paint on his cap, and cursed, red flaring for a second, then faded.

"Sorry 'bout that Crutchie, I knowse you don't like it when Ise swear." Jack apologized. Surprised, Crutchie glanced at his arms. Could Jack see his colors, his emotions? Crutchie scooted a little closer to Jack. He had asked only one Newsie if they could see colors around people, and the Newsie had just laughed at him and told Crutchie that he should lay off of the drugs for a while. Crutchie recalled being both insulted and angry at the Brooklyn Newsie. Would Jack laugh at him, too? Jack noticed the look on Crutchie's face and misinterpreted it as shock.

"Didja think dat Ise would forgit?" He asked gently. Crutchie quickly shook his head no. Jack shrugged, and returned to his painting. Crutchie settled back down to his spot on the floor. He looked at the notebook. Maybe he could draw Jack something. Crutchie had never tried to draw towns or cities or places like Santa Fe. But he could draw okay animals, especially dogs. He began sketching the outline of what the dog would look like. Crutchie stuck his tongue out in concentration. He had to get it right so Jack would like it, and then invite him to keep hanging with him when he painted.

Crutchie really didn't want to go back to the Lodging House when all the Newsies were there. The noise level always went down a little whenever he entered, and the whispers increased. No, he would much rather stay with Jack. He completed added a bit of shading on the nose of the dog, then tore the paper off of his notebook. Crutchie tapped Jack's shoulder. Jack turned, and Crutchie held his breath as he handed Jack the drawing. Jack looked at it for a moment, his aura a strong indigo, indicating surprise.

"Wow Crutchie, dis is really good! Ise didn't knowse you could draw animals. Dat's the one thing Ise bad at. But youse is really skilled!" Crutchie's heart fluttered. He thought it was good? Is he lying? He seems sincere. Jack's aura bled from indigo to green again.

"Youse know, if youse ever want ta draw wit' me again, youse can. Youse always welcome." Crutchie's heart swelled, and a tiny squeak escaped from his mouth. Crutchie covered up his mouth with his hand. But Jack didn't seemed perturbed by his awkward squeak, and grinned.

"It really makes youse that happy? Crutchie, if youse wanted to hang dat badly, youse could have just written it out. Ise like being around youse." Crutchie grabbed his notebook and hid his face as he blushed.

I wasn't sure if you wanted to be friends with someone like me, he wrote. Jack frowned.

"Why not?" Crutchie stared at Jack in dismay. Didn't he get it?

 _Because I'm a mute crip who's worthless_ , Crutchie wrote with all honesty. Sure, the truth hurt a little inside, but that's really what he was. Jack's aura shifted to red.

"A mute crip who's worthless? Crutchie, Ise only been wit' ya for a couple of days, and youse not worthless, an' I don't care if ya have a crutch or if youse mute, I think youse are still an amazing person who's just shy sometimes. An' if youse have trouble with anybody else sayin' those things to youse, youse just tell me, and my fists will be in their face."

Jack spoke with such passion his aura looked like a burning fire flickering all around him. Crutchie watched, fascinated, as the aura fire lept out in all directions. Anger was one of the strongest emotions, but it tended to appear in different forms on different people. A blaze was something Crutchie had never experienced before. It was almost reckless, out of control, and barely contained but at the same time had a certain beauty to it, like a tiger in a cage.

Jack picked up Crutchie's notebook and scribbled over the line that said he was a mute crip that was worthless. He made a line, and began making a list. He handed it over to Crutchie.

 _W_ h _at_ C _r_ u _t_ c _h_ i _e_ i _s_

\- Kind

\- Shy

\- Quiet

\- Has an awesom stick weapon

\- Is good at drawing dogs

\- Honest

\- Sells a mean pape to the rich daems dames

\- Loks very cute with a newsys newsies cap on

\- Has a nice smile

\- Good listaner listener?

\- Jack's friend and drawing buddy

 _I look cute with a newsies cap on?_

Jack's eyes smiled.

"Yeah, an' youse aura is really somethin'. All green wit' a little smile playin' across youse lips. Youse always seems to git a little more happy whenever Ise around though. Aw, now youse toining all shock colored, like youse didn't know I could see colors 'round people like you." Jack put his fist against his chin and gave Crutchie a half moon smile. The effect was ruined as the paintbrush in his hand splattered pink against his chin.

"Dang it," Jack muttered, and wiped the paint off of his chin with his hand. Crutchie stared at Jack with his mouth open like a fish. No sound came out. He grabbed his notebook and furiously scribbled down something.

 _YOU CAN SEE COLOR AURAS LIKE ME? HOW DID YOU KNOW I CAN SEE THEM? WHY CAN'T EVERYBODY ELSE? WHA_

Jack cut him off mid-word. "Calm down dere Crutch, one question atta time, and don' shout at me like that. Wait- Ise means, don't go all uppacase like that." Crutchie would have smiled at the mix up, but at the second was too busy processing what the heck was going on.

"I knew youse could see- what didja call dem? Color auras? Because youse always kind of glancin' around me, not quiot lookin' at me directly, dats all. I does the same thing. Uh, yeah Ise always been able ta see them, but Ise neva met anyone else who could also see dem till you, an' I don't really knowse why othas can't see 'em, Ise neva been able ta see my own for some reason, an'- uh yeah, dat about sums it up." He leaned back, satisfied with his answer. Crutchie gave another tiny squeak of disbelief. This was unbelievable! Jack shifted in his seat. "Uh, since Ise already toldja what your aura looks like, do ya think youse could maybe, uh, tell me what mine looks like? Ise just wonderin'." Crutchie thought for a moment, then started writing.

 _Your aura is a tornado of emotions, swirling and spinning endlessly around you, clashing and mixing in brilliant flashes of blue, green, and orange, flaring up and hiding, dancing to an unheard song._

"Wow Crutchie dats poetry if Ise eva seen it. Now Ise feel kinda bad dat I jus' said yours is green." Jack commented, looking sheepish. Then he snapped his fingers. "I knowse! Ise paint it. But it's not gonna be ready for a while, so if youse don't mind jus' stayin' up a bit later…" Jack paused, waiting for Crutchie's approval. Crutchie nodded, and flipped his notebook closed. Jack turned back to Crutchie. "Ise don't have any canvases, so is paper okay?" Crutchie nodded yes again, and Jack tore a piece of paper from a cheap notebook on the floor. Crutchie watched as Jack started sketching the outline of a head. Jack made curved and straight lines appear from his pencil with sure, quick strokes. It was soothing to watch. Crutchie leaned his chin on his hand as Jack continued, and tried to stifle the growing smile on his face. Eyes, a nose, and mouth appeared on the page, and Crutchie's likeness slowly appeared.

"Time for painting!" Jack dabbed his paintbrush into a lighter green, and carefully started painting the area around Crutchie's head. He rubbed the brush off and dipped it into a dark green, and started blending the two colors, making some areas darker and lighter than others. He took a smaller brush and added flecks of dark blue and indigo, careful to get the area around Crutchie and not on him. Finally, Jack stopped adding colors and scooted over so Crutchie could see the picture easily. Crutchie gave a little gasp. It was amazing! His aura seemed to glow on the page. Jack was so talented.

"It's yours to keep if youse want it, Mista Poetry Master." Jack said, wiping his hands on a cloth to get the flecks of paint off. Crutchie looked at Jack with big innocent eyes. Jack's heart melted. God, Crutchie was just too cute when he gave those eyes-and that smile- the world seemed a little brighter when Crutchie smiled.

 _Really? I can keep this?_ Jack nodded. Crutchie gingerly picked up the piece of paper as if handling a valuable treasure. His aura swirled happily around him, turning completely green.

Jack started to wash off the paintbrushes, singing softly as he tried to get most of the paint off. Crutchie set down his notebook and the picture of himself and joined him, picking up a paintbrush and bringing it over to the sink. Jack moved to the side so Crutchie could put his brush under the cold water, and Crutchie realized that this was the closest he had ever been to Jack. He stiffened for a second, heart beating. Jack smiled at him and continued washing the paint brushes. He smelled like aftershave and something else that Crutchie couldn't place, but still smelled good, and Crutchie's heart sped up a little faster. He could almost feel his aura turning violet. Suddenly, impulsively, Crutchie reached up on his tiptoes and swiped some of the red paint onto Jack's face. Jack touched the side of his face, then swiped orange tangerine paint onto Crutchie's cheek.

"It's on!" Jack crowed. Crutchie flung some purple from his brush and suddenly little speckles dotted Jack's face. Jack dipped both hands into some pink and pushed Crutchie backwards. Crutchie tripped over a paintbrush, and tried to grab something to hold on. He grabbed onto Jack's shirt and they both fell onto the floor with a thud, with Jack on top. Crutchie felt all the air whoosh out of his lungs with a gasp. Jack was so close Crutchie could see all of the tiny speckles of gold in his eyes. Suddenly, Jack leaned forward and kissed Crutchie. Immediately Crutchie melted leaning back onto the floor. Jack's lips tasted like hot chocolate and mint. Crutchie shut his eyes, enjoying the lingering kiss. Suddenly the pair heard footsteps.

"Crap, dats Medda." Jack said, and pulled himself off of Crutchie, handed Crutchie his crutch, and pulled him off of the floor. Crutchie noted the violet and green aura swirling around Jack, and guessed his aura matched Jack's, and a slight shiver of happiness ran up and down his body. Medda appeared at the end of the hall.

"Are you boys almost done painting? It's getting late." Jack flashed a smile, and straightened his crooked hat.

"Of course, just cleanin' up, right Crutch?" Crutchie nodded vigorously, and hobbled over to grab his notebook, trying to wipe some of the paint off his arms . Medda looked like she didn't quite believe them, but nodded and disappeared down the hall that she came from. Jack grinned at Crutchie and picked up all of the paintbrushes and packed them into a box. Crutchie found himself smiling back. Jack picked up the last paint can and returned it to its proper place.

"Where were we? Oh right, Ise was kissin' you." Jack pulled Crutchie towards him, and Crutchie wrapped his arms around Jack. They kissed each other, softly, tenderly, but with passion. creating a forcefield against the grayness of the world. Colors swirled around the pair, dancing, celebrating finding love and color in an otherwise gray world.

 **Wow that was a really dramatic ending. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed my story. Please review!**


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